Algiers man booked with murder of Betsy's Pancake House owner

DAVID GRUNFELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEBryant Boudoin, 27, of Algiers was booked with the murder of Betsy McDaniel, owner of the popular Betsy's Pancake House in Mid-City on Thursday. He is being walked into central lockup.

For months, it was the news that the family, friends and customers of Betsy McDaniel waited for: Someone had been arrested in her murder.

On Thursday about 10:30 a.m., Bryant Boudoin, 27, was apprehended at his Algiers home by New Orleans police, Jefferson Parish deputies and federal marshals, culminating an investigation that began when McDaniel was beaten early Memorial Day morning.

File photoBetsy McDaniel

The owner of the popular Betsy's Pancake House in Mid-City died May 28 of her injuries, sparking an outpouring of grief and a fundraising effort that offered a $20,000 reward for the capture of her killer.

"We're in tears but we are so happy and we are so grateful for every prayer and every hour spent finding this person, " said Jeanette Michaelson, a waitress at the restaurant, where patrons were in a jubilant mood after learning of the arrest around lunchtime. "Her spirit's here, but we miss her."

Suspect Arrested in Besty's murder

Boudoin was booked with first-degree murder and was taken to Central Lockup. He eventually will be transported to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna.

Authorities say someone broke into McDaniel's Marrero home May 26, forced her to open several safes, then kicked and punched the 72-year-old woman. Before she died, she told her family that the intruder called her by name and threatened to hurt her daughter, Mary Murdock, if she didn't open the safes. Authorities initially speculated that the burglary involved someone close to the family.

Despite that speculation, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said Boudoin has no ties to the restaurant or the family.

"There was no connection or relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, " he said.

The sheriff provided few details about how Boudoin became a suspect, saying only that he has been a target of the investigation for several months. More arrests are possible.

"We have been able to put together additional evidence relative to this individual and another individual, " Normand said. "We're not going to talk about him yet."

Investigators are unsure whether Boudoin knew about McDaniel's safe.

"I am not in his mind as to what he knew or didn't know at the time or commission of the crime, " Normand said.

The sheriff said investigators are also looking for people tied to Boudoin who might have been involved before or after the killing.

'He's not a murderer'

Boudoin's mother, Martha Boudoin, said her son was under authorities' radar for months, and she accused them of arresting him to appease McDaniel's family.

Investigators first questioned Bryant Boudoin in May because they said his mother's car was seen in McDaniel's neighborhood at the time of the burglary, Martha Boudoin said. The car was seized by authorities, who asked Bryant Boudoin for a voluntary DNA sample, which he provided, she said.

Her family didn't hear anything further until officers knocked on the door of their Potomac Street home Thursday with their guns drawn, Martha Boudoin said. Authorities could not have been searching for her son because he has been living with her the entire time, she said.

"He's not a criminal, he's not a murderer, " said Boudoin, who added that neither she nor her son has any connection to McDaniel or her family. "He's got a grandmother that age. Why would he hurt that old lady?

"Ms. Betsy's people are pressing them and they have to do something to make sure they arrest somebody, " she said.

'He stole her from us'

David Grunfeld / The Times-PicayuneMary "Ladybug" Murdock, daughter of Betsy McDaniel, talking via cell phone, tells her son Robert Bryant of Houston that her mother's alledged killer has been caught.

McDaniel's family had no idea authorities were close to an arrest. Her son-in-law, John Murdock, said the family had intermittent conversations with investigators, but mostly they discussed items still missing from McDaniel's home.

They have struggled to move on, and Murdock hopes that this news will finally bring some peace.

"They're a little bit better, not as much in shock anymore, " Murdock said. "It would be good to know they caught the animal that did it."

Once it was determined that McDaniel had no ties to her suspected killer, Normand said he and detectives were struck by the random nature of the killing.

"We don't often see these types of homicides in Jefferson Parish that are truly random, " the sheriff said. "That, in and of itself, raises the ire of any law enforcement community and certainly the neighborhood that she lived in."

Cindy Oldenburg, McDaniel's youngest daughter, said Thursday's arrest was the best birthday gift she could have gotten. Watching her mother on life support after the beating was "the hardest thing I've ever seen, " she said, adding that her family will never truly recover what was lost with her mother's death.

"He stole her from us. Literally, he stole her from us, " Oldenburg said. "It's horrific."

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Anyone with information is asked to call the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office at 504.364.5300, or Crimestoppers at 822.1111 or toll free at 1.877.903.7867.Michelle Hunter contributed to this report.

Allen Powell II can be reached at apowell@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3793.